Bay Area sends Haiti medical aid

Bay Area health care institutions are chipping in to aid residents of earthquake-devastated Haiti, which even before a 7.0 magnitude quake hit last week was an economic and political basket case.

Sacramento-based Sutter Health said Friday it will supply trained medical personnel and contribute $1.5 million, including $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and $250,000 to the nonprofit MedShare International, which has a distribution and shipping center in San Leandro, to send medical supplies.

Kaiser Permanente, based in Oakland, has donated $500,000 via four disaster relief organizations: $200,000 to Doctors Without Borders, $200,000 to Relief International, $50,000 to Operation USA, and $50,000 to MedShare. Also, some Kaiser doctors and nurses trained for disaster relief have left for Haiti.

San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. has donated $400,000 in cash and medical supplies, including crutches, orthopedic braces, gauze, masks and mosquito nets. The company is also matching employeesâ€™ donations.

The National Nurses United labor group, which includes Oaklandâ€™s California Nurses Association, is working to help coordinate RN volunteer efforts, and close to 8,000 RNs nationwide have indicated an interest in volunteering for duty in Haiti. So far, however, large-scale efforts have been stymied by chaos on the ground there. Meanwhile, Stanford Hospital & Clinics has sent a seven-member team to Haiti, along with $18,000 in medical supplies.